Speculations rife over dist minister in-charge’s continuous absence

— By NIRUKT BHARGAVA | Oct 19, 2016 09:24 am

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Ujjain: Speculations are rife over the conspicuous absence of district minister in-charge Bhupendra Singh from official programmes as well as BJP meets over the past five months. Singh was in charge of the transport department before the Simhastha fair held between April 22 and May 21.

Singh, who remained in the city for just 45 days at a stretch during Simhastha Fair-2016, is reported to be annoyed over organizational matters of the mega international event and has kept away from local affairs since. Singh was made in charge of Ujjain district in November 2015 in place of the then urban administration minister Kailash Vijayvergiya, who was elevated to the post of national general secretary of BJP. He had impressed everybody by maintaining a low profile as also his hard work.

He became the first choice of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan for the post of home minister, only due to his excellent work during the Simhastha fair held here. However, he never turned up in the district after the fair, having being entrusted with the key responsibility of the home ministry, in place of Babulal Gaur.

According to BJP sources, the minister was expected in a number of party meetings and programmes, but had failed to make a presence.

His absence had also led to the BJP dominated Ujjain Municipal Corporation board to cancel a programme organised on September 19, to mark the completion of one year in office during which Singh was supposed to be the chief guest. Invitation cards had been distributed after his consent, but he refused to attend at eleventh hour.

The long awaited meeting of the district planning committee was also not convened as Singh was unavailable, administrative sources disclosed.

Simhastha Fair authorities said several key issues had to be discussed like the annoyance of the hermit clan over certain issues, but he had not yet finalised the date of the meeting. They were of the opinion that owing to his dissatisfaction over the affairs of the fair, he might be relieved of his duties as district minister in charge.

Despite repeated efforts by Free Press, Singh was not available for comments.